October 18, 2017 6:27pm EDTOctober 18, 2017 6:27pm EDTThe NFL could have succumbed to Donald Trump and forced players to stand for the national anthem. But the league chose not to take the easy way out of this controversy.

NEW YORK — The NFL remains under assault from the internet's largest bully pulpit.

But at least for now, the league is fighting back.

There is no easy way out for the NFL regarding how to best handle fallout from a small number of players who continue to kneel during the national anthem, a protest that has alienated part of the league's fan base and contributed to a television-ratings decline since Colin Kaepernick began genuflecting in August 2016.

The easiest way would be succumbing to President Donald Trump's ongoing demand that the league force everybody to stand. The NFL didn't take that path Wednesday at its fall owners meeting.

Anthem protocol and trying to find a solution to the NFL's conundrum was a significant two-day focus of discussions between league executives and team owners. The end result was keeping the current anthem rules in place that say players “should” stand for the anthem but without consequences attached.

Trump knew this was coming, as proven by another rant against the NFL on Twitter. Early in the day Wednesday, he proclaimed that "Total disrespect for our great country!" was being shown by the league.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would not get into a tit-for-tat with Trump on those comments during his Wednesday post-meeting news conference, nor is he expected to in the future. Giants co-owner John Mara told media in attendance that the NFL "can’t allow ourselves to get baited" into sparring every time the president decides to rant.

Goodell, who said he has not spoken directly with Trump since the controversy was reignited last month during one of the president’s speeches, also reiterated his belief that players should stand for the anthem.

"We respect our country, our flag and the national anthem," Goodell said when asked about Trump's criticism. "We all feel very strongly about our country and pride and we’re going to continue to show that."

This sounds great. However, the NFL knows it has a real problem with Trump bashing the product and trying to turn his support base against a league that, ironically enough, has draped itself in the stars-and-stripes to fortify its popularity. Trump already has made a not-so-veiled threat about the NFL's tax breaks, which caught the attention of owners who have outside business interests that could be targeted as well.

On the flip side, Goodell knows issuing a mandate about standing during the anthem would alienate a sizeable number of players who don't want their civil liberties stripped, especially under pressure from a president who has come under fire for his handling of race-related matters. A player walk-out or more inflammatory actions during the anthem would be realistic possibilities and would create an even more toxic environment.

The reaction to recent comments made by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about his threat to bench players who didn't stand created its own firestorm. Goodell tap-danced around a question about whether such a scenario would be permitted under NFL rules by refusing to speak about "hypotheticals."

Goodell also is straddling the line trying to find a way to entice players to stand while also accounting for the social- and racial-injustice causes to which they're hoping to draw attention. Those who are not following traditional protocol also are well aware that the whole reason for their actions is being lost amid the kneeling furor.

The league is now dangling a carrot to players by discussing ways in which the league and teams can help promote and enhance their efforts. The unspoken message in Tuesday’s meeting between the NFL and a select group of players is that this ultimately should lead to the latter making a compromise and again standing for the anthem without incident.

"We have to focus on the fact that we have six or seven players involved with the protest at this point," Goodell said. "What we try to do is deal with the underlying issue and understand what it is they are protesting and what we can do to address that. The important thing for us is to be able to do that and take that opportunity to make real differences in our communities."

Realistically, though, the NFL will have to revamp its current anthem stance. Even if there is an unwritten understanding between the two sides, the league can’t put itself at risk for future damage by just hoping players don’t begin kneeling again if triggered by an outside occurrence, like a controversial police-involved shooting or political disagreement.

The new anthem policy likely would come about in 2018 after the NFL finds common ground with players on how to better showcase their off-field efforts. When that day comes — and I truly believe it will — Trump can take credit for forcing the league to make changes.

He wouldn't be wrong, either.

But the NFL would be saving face by doing this on its own terms and timetables.

Only then can the NFL accomplish what Goodell says he wants: "Make sure we get back to football."